Nomnomnom! A dessert cookbook up for review this time. In The New Sugar and Spice author Samantha Seneviratne delivers 80 delicious recipes, that use more than just sugar to taste good. She acknowledges the problems that come from sugar. Addiction, over-eating, she does not shy away from them. Instead it encouraged her to find a new way. Keep making delicious desserts, but using other flavourings instead of merely sugar. Continue reading →

Finally, someone who understands cookbooks! I just found the first cookbook in a loooong time that has a photo with every recipe! This makes me so happy 🙂 Violet Bakery is a small but popular cake shop in London. Owned by pastry chef Claire Ptak, the most delicious looking baked goodies are sold there. But for everyone who does not live in the vicinity, or who would like to give the recipes a try themselves, the Violet Bakery Cookbook is now available. Continue reading →

The Dalai Lama is one of the people I respect the most. I’m not a Buddhist, but I love the way Buddhism deals with modern times. Scientific research finds something contrary to what is believed in Buddhism? Then we should change our beliefs. Should everyone become a Buddhist? No of course not, everyone should pick the (spiritual) path that suits him best. I like that approach and admire the versatility of this religion. Continue reading →

Do you know anything about King Alfred the Great? I didn’t, at least not before I started reading this book. It might be because I’m not from the UK. So King Alfred was the king of Wessex (a kingdom in the south of Great Britain) in the ninth century AD. I have to admit, that I’m not familiar with this period in history at all. I don’t know, in high school we always focussed on the world wars and otherwise the Romans and the Greeks. But the Middle Ages were never really taught. Continue reading →

Messages From An Owl was one of the highest rated books on my to-read list. With an average rating of 4.67, I felt it must be amazing. And even though this rating is based only on 5 people (I know, that is very little), I decided to give it a try.

The author, Max R. Terman, is a zoologist from Kansas. One day, he rescues a great horned owlet and decides to try and raise it. Many biologists believe that this is a futile try, as most hand-raises owl are never capable of surviving on their own, let alone be a normal functioning member of their species. Continue reading →

The Name of the Wind by Patrick RothfussSeries: The Kingkiller Chronicle (#1)Publisher: Penguin Group DAW (March 2007)
Genre: Fantasy
Pages: 662

This is my new favourite book! I write this review just minutes after finishing the book. I still feel a bit overwhelmed.

Sometimes the expectations are just too high. The ratings on Goodreads are amazing: 4.55 stars average from about 270.000 ratings. I was also recommended by friends to read The Name of the Wind. Maybe because of these expectations, the beginning was quite slow and a little disappointing. But then after fifty pages or so.. BAM! The story took up speed and didn’t slow down until the end. Continue reading →

David Gillespie has written quite a controversial book. In Sweet Poison he claims that sugar is not just a little bad for you, but as bad as poison. A poison that is not recognized as such at the moment and with which millions of people infuse themselves every single day. Day in, day out… Continue reading →